It's Friday and I'm about to head out the door for the Super Bowl in Arizona from which I'll be blogging all next week. But before I go, I must do my usual Friday duty. And that is, turn over this thin slice of cyberspace to you, the reader.

First, though, a few words to those who believe I slighted Danny Schayes, out of Jamesville-DeWitt High School, in this morning's column in The Post-Standard on Henninger High School product Andray Blatche. The suggestion in that piece was that, assuming the NBA is the measuring stick, the two best players, to come out of the city of Syracuse were Blatche and Jimmy Collins. Which eliminated the likes of Schayes and Larry Costello.

Is that slicing the baloney too thin? Maybe. Maybe not.

Enjoy . . .

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As a former Syracuse native I have followed your online blog for many years and really appreciate your efforts. It's the only way a far-away Orange fan can keep up with his or her team.

I have one comment for you.

OK, the New York Yankees spend a ton. Would you feel better if they reduced their payroll the next five years by $150 million a year? They'd still sell all the seats in the last year of the old stadium and the first four years in the new stadium.

So if they reduce the payroll instead of putting the fans' money back into the team, the Steinbrenner family can walk away with a cool $750 million profit.

What sounds better to you?

-- Dennis Tommasulo
Dix Hills (Long Island), N.Y.

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Covering the Wide World of Torts . . .

The first annual Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning Kickoff (SNACK) dinner and awards ceremony has been held, and the 2008 winners, across 15 categories, are as follows:

The "We Are Family Award": Veteran baseball reporter Peter Gammons, representing his many ESPN colleagues, for maintaining their role in the TV-players-owners-reporters symbiosis in protecting baseball's goose that lays their golden egg. The award honors their fear-based conspiracy over the last 15 years in not asking the hard questions, lest the ego-sensitive ballplayers cut them off.

Lastly, the prestigious "Mount Sizemore Award," the South Dakota block of granite depicting the sculpted faces of the most distinguished citizens of the Steroid Nation, and unanimously chosen to jointly represent the face of ACNE (Advanced Conditioning's Nutritional Excellence) from henceforth and in perpetuity: Lyle Alzado, Ben Johnson, Bonds and Jones (in full beard).